Abstract

• Extensive reading plays a crucial role to enhance the academic knowledge of an individual in education. This research was carried out to investigate attitudes of the undergraduate students attending at Yangon University of Education (YUOE) in 2023-2024 Academic Year towards implementing an extensive reading programme. Most of the students at YUOE view that extensive reading has a positive effect on their English language proficiency and they want to adopt an extensive reading programme at the university. For the required data, 76 students from YUOE were asked to answer questionnaires and interview questions. The data were analyzed using a mixed method approach, explanatory sequential. The result shows 90.8% of students welcome extensive reading. They believe that extensive reading will be of great help for the development of their English language proficiency. But when they are asked about choosing the reading materials and the level of the texts, their attitudes are mixed: 40.8% of the students believe that self-selected texts will be more enjoyable and beneficial to improve their English language skills compared to the teacher selected texts, whereas 56.3% want their English teachers to choose the level and genre of the books they should read. It was observed that 90.8% of the participants believe that an extensive reading programme should be implemented at YUOE. The findings of this research will be a help to the administrative board, English language teachers and students at YUOE in considering how to implement an extensive reading programme at the university. This study will be beneficial not only to students who are trying to improve their English language proficiency but also to teachers who are willing to introduce their students to the benefits of extensive reading on English language learning.